Winning is a funny thing-it is something that drives every athlete and seems to feed on itself. Once you have gotten a taste of it, nothing short of first place will do.
Last season, the men's soccer team compiled a 16-7-1 record and made it all the way to the national championship game in Richmond, where they fell 2-0 to Wisconsin.
This season, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 2 in the country as they boast a lineup that returns 10 of 11 starters and features one of the most potent attacking units in college soccer. Talent and rankings aside, what makes this team most dangerous is its desire to return to Richmond and deal with some unfinished business.
"I think being so close to something you dream about all the time really sticks in your heart and creates a burning desire to get back," sophomore midfielder Jay Heaps said.
"As far as thinking about last season and the Final Four... I'd say the entire second semester was spent talking and going over things and the what ifs," senior forward Brian Kelly said.
Duke is hardly a team that spends time pondering what might have been. Focus now turns to the task at hand. Over-confidence does not appear to be a factor.
"I just try and remind our team that we had to win some key games last year just to get into the playoffs," head coach John Rennie said. "It's easy for them to forget that, so it's even easier for the fans or whoever to forget that. We had a great run and ended up second in the tournament, so now we're ranked second going in. I don't think its too hard for our players to grasp that preseason rankings are irrelevant."
"That's what the preseason is for," Kelly said. "It's good because we play very competitive preseason games in which we get pushed to the limit. Sometimes we come out on top and sometimes we lose-so preseason games put us in our place; it shows us that we have a lot to work on."
The only problem with such high expectations is that everyone knows how good you are and they are sure to be prepared for you.
"You become more of a target," Rennie said. "People are pointing towards you as a team that they can make their mark on by beating you. People will be ready mentally, psychologically and everything else. Last year we snuck up on some people and we were the hunter, now we're the huntee-so it's very different."
"We're going to go one game at a time," Heaps said. "We know that each game means so much and everyone should be gunning for us so we have to treat each team as a challenge."
The key to Duke's success on the field is their trademark aggressive style of attack that features three forwards: Kelly, junior Andy Kwon and sophomore Josh Henderson.
"Going forward and creating scoring chances is what we are best at," Rennie said.
"Our biggest strength is our attack," Kelly said. "We are able to push forward so quickly and with so much skill that there are going to be a lot of chances to score. Games should be exciting, there should be a lot of goals."
Kelly earned All-America honors last year after leading the Blue Devils with 16 goals and 43 points. Kwon tallied eight goals and four assists but was most effective in the clutch, scoring several game-winning goals. Henderson was dazzling in his freshman campaign finishing with eight goals and a team high 11 assists despite missing seven games with a severe ankle injury. He earned All-America freshman team honors as well as second team All-ACC accolades and has been selected this year as a preseason All-American.
"Josh is going to be a key player for us because he is going to take a lot of abuse this year," Kelly said. "The more abuse he takes, he keeps getting up from getting kicked down, that pushes the rest of our team."
Rounding out the core of central attackers is Heaps, who plays a highly aggressive center midfield.
"What's great about my role is that it is more like a fourth striker than a center midfield," Heaps said. "What I like to do is I come back on defense because that's your duty as a center midfielder-but what's good is that coach wants me in the box when we are on the attack and playing defense when it's time to get the ball out."
Heaps' freshman season was spectacular as he finished second on the team with 15 goals and 39 points, earning All-ACC honors in the process as well as Soccer America's national Freshman of the Year award. His heroics in the regular season contest against Virginia, which included two goals in the last two minutes of overtime, highlighted his propensity for the dramatic.
Heaps is an important part of Duke's defensive scheme as well, especially because he is able to use his incredible leaping ability to win a large number of headers in the defensive box.
With all the emphasis placed on the offense, it is easy to overlook a defensive unit that is equally talented.
"Our defense is the reason why we can attack," Heaps said. "Evan Whitfield in the back, Sam Smith, Adam Mastrelli, freshman Wesley Dowd, any guys you put back there, they know the system so well. It's so well covered back there that it allows our offense to have the confidence to go forward and take the risks."
Whitfield, a sophomore, started 23 games for Duke last year and was named second team All-ACC. Smith, a senior, started 12 games last year and scored a crucial goal in the Blue Devil's upset of Virginia in the Final Four. Mastrelli, a junior, has seen extensive action as well-starting 18 games last year and 14 his freshman year.
Junior John Morton will get the call in goal after registering a 1.33 goals against average in 17 starts last year.
"I thought John Morton played well-he had a great NCAA tournament and did quite well down the stretch," Rennie said.
Several freshman from Duke's heralded recruiting class will also play large roles this season.
"Gaston Haupert is a freshman who is playing well in the midfield, probably in a starting role," Rennie said. "Troy Garner is a freshman who has been playing a lot up front, rotating with Andy Kwon and Brian Kelly and doing very well. Wes Dowd and Peter Gail have also played extensively in the preseason as well."
With only defender Craig Jeidy missing from last year's starting unit, the team has been benefiting this preseason from a familiarity that is difficult to come by in collegiate athletics.
"It's a big bonus having everyone back, because now when we work over the system, the majority of people know the system pretty intimately and we can move forward from last year instead of having to start over," Kelly said.
From that solid core of returners, the one name that constantly comes up as a leader on the field is senior midfielder Michael Dunne.
"I think that one of the biggest leaders on the field is Mike Dunne," Kelly said. "He is probably one of the most solid players I have ever played with. He's a great leader, verbal, physical."
"Seniors this year are vocal and they also lead by example," Heaps said. "Mike is more of the vocal guy-if it seems like things are slipping away, he's gets control and grabs someone. Brian is more of the leader who will do something to get us going offensively with a move or something like that."
The Blue Devils begin their quest this week as the regular season starts with a flurry, with a home game against Averett followed by matches against Indiana and SMU.
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